Random Acts of Kindness - TpT Style {Thursday}

Free for the next 20 downloads! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Random Acts of Kindness - TpT Style {Wednesday}

50% off Today!

Valentine File Folder Games

An InLinkz Link-up

Random Acts of Kindness TpT Style (Tuesday)

I am filling the week with Random Acts of Kindness and I am doing it TpT Style.

From 4 to 5 pm {est} today you are going to be able to download this ...

for FREE!

An InLinkz Link-up

Random Acts of Kindness Week - TpT Style (Monday)

Since Valentine's Day is as exciting to me as Christmas I am going to party up! You are all invited!

There are going to be Flash Freebies all week long.  Different items will be marked down on different days!

Announcements will be on this blog post, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google +.

To start out we are going to markdown the Valentine Hands On Math and Literacy Centers Mini Bundle. This bundle is usually $15.00.  It will be marked down to $10 this week!

That will be Monday's TpT rak.

Come back here all week and see what I am up to! {Tomorrow it will be a Flash Freebie! Be sure you head over to Facebook in the morning and see when the sale is!}

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing Our Love

We have been counting down days to big events in February, Valentine's Day, Nana's birthday and Mommy's birthday.  

For some reason this little one {Little Miss} is in LOVE with Valentine's Day.  Could be because she is my daughter?  Today is only like my favorite holiday!  I love everything about it.  Love, hearts, pink and glitter!  It is right up my alley!

Too many people hate Valentine's Day.  If you don't have your person then you are not loved.  If you don't have your person then you don't have a reason to celebrate.  Maybe it is because the person they love is gone - over seas or heaven.  Maybe they are just hurting and alone and today just hits that point home for them even harder.  Everyone has their reasons for loving or hating the day.  

Even though my husband and I are sacrificing this Valentine's Day for our long term goals.  I wasn't going to completely scrap it for the kids.  I didn't do the whole, Valentine's Day is time to buy the people you love presents!  There is enough of that stuff going around.  Nope, I went more with today is a day where we can shower people with love.  God loves us all, so let's show people that God loves them by saying Happy Valentine's Day.   I asked what she wanted to do.  "Hand out Valentines!"

So we set out and got two boxes of Valentines.  I wrote "You" in the To: and in the From: I wrote, "God loves you."  We taped them to Kit Kat bars.

Since I had two kids that went to bed like champs last night we headed to the mall.  

She started out by giving them to the Mommy, Grandma and Daddy playing with their kids at the play area.  When Little Mister and Little Miss were done playing we walked around the mall and she handed out around 25 valentines to 'strangers'.  Several employees said, "I wish we had something for her.  That is too sweet!"  I told them, "it's perfectly okay, we are just sharing our love today."  It didn't matter man, woman, old, young, black, white, shopper or employee.

After the first few she saw someone and said, "What about him/her Mommy?"  I only stopped her when it was a worker who was really busy (She wanted to go in the jewelry store - 8 shoppers and 3 workers) I just redirected her attention to someone else.  It was obvious that she was really getting into it.

Some she gave out were to men shopping for suits.  Women who were working.  People who were just shopping.  Some just took them and said, "Thank You".  Others looked at me with that look asking if it was okay/confusion.  One was an older lady sitting on a bench reading a book - she was almost brought to tears.  One worker looked at me and said, "She just made my day."  Then there was the mom with 5 or 6 kids - she just looked at her and said, "Happy Valentine's Day to you too Sweetheart."  Her oldest boy then found us later and gave them a stuffed animal he won in the claw game.

After I asked her how she felt about handing out valentines to strangers.  "It made me happy."  I then asked her how she thinks it made the other people feel.  "Happy and special."  I then asked her if she like making people feel special and happy.  She just nodded.

There was something in that simple nod.  With her simple nod I saw the fingerprint of God right there on my baby girl.

I prayed before I got out of the car.  "Lord, if I am supposed to pray for someone today that needs to be hit me with a semi-truck clear, because that is not a strong point of mine and I am not the most comfortable with it, but if you need me too I will."  All I did was facilitate what she wanted to do.  Yes, I bought 2 boxes of Valentines and a bag of candy.  I saw smiles that might not have been smiles today.  I saw twinkles in the eyes of strangers.  I saw a little girl who runs and hides behind my knee walk up to people and say "Happy Valentine's Day".

You can't tell me God is not alive.  I saw Him today.  I saw him in the heart of a 4 year old little girl.  I saw Him warm the hearts of strangers, even if it was just for those few seconds.  I am sure that for some of them they are going to see that little Doc McStuffins or Thomas Valentine and smile.

God doesn't need much space, He just needs to be invited in.  We might have storms raging all around us - but in the midst of it we can still be a blessing.  We can still pour out God's love in simple ways.  What can you do today to show a stranger love?

{Teach Me Thursday} Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  One of the best days of the entire year. 

For years Valentine's Day was my favorite holiday.  This was even before I had found the Love that God created for me.  This was before I ever experienced the love of someone other than my family.  I am all about hearts, pink and red, and love.  I love the idea of love.  I love being in love.  I love sharing love.  I love LOVE. 

We have had a few rough years and I have not been able to celebrate Valentine's day the way that I would want.  I am looking forward to next year being different.  I am not even referring to the expensive dates and gifts.  I am referring to things like ...

14 Acts of Love

Making fun crafts and Valentine Cards for the people we love.

like this placemat from The Domestic Notebook

or this great little craft

How cute is this?  

I want to do a count down to Valentine's Day with I love you because ...
I want cute Valentine's Day decorations. 
I want to make cute Heart shaped foods. 
I want to make my family a special meal and eat them on Valentine's Plates. 

Valentine's Day is all about love.  Love is who I am.  This holiday just fits me. We will have Valentine's Day traditions, just like we have Christmas Traditions.

So share some love today!  Happy Valentine's Day to you from all of us here with The Hickman Five.